It’s a circus around here

Every so often I get together with my favorite makeup artist, Femke Schuh, and we dream up funny photoshoots. We do them just for fun and usually we have no idea when we’re getting started how far this idea will go.

That’s how it was with this idea of having a circus photoshoot. We had a circus, at least in theory, and an idea about the models we would use too. The people from Zirkus Zaretti were incredibly accommodating and gave us a lot of support with the shoot. But a circus tent needs to be heated when its pouring cats and dogs, and that takes a few gallons of gasoline. The ground under the tent was completely soaked, so my shoes were more like aqua socks after half an hour. Well aren’t we off to a great start…

A few days before the shoot we still didn’t have any models and I was just about to book some through an agency. Cost what it may, our models had to be great. In my moment of despair, a message suddenly popped in. Woohoo, a couple of actual circus artists, young and nice to look at, toned bodies – and the answer to my question of whether we could hang a model from the trapeze. How cool. If you want it to look real, it needs to be real. Perfect, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

A whole circus complete with ponies and goats was waiting for us, plus kids who were supposed to be in the pictures too. Absolute chaos on the day of the shoot. A lamp falls over here, one over there, everything is soaking wet. By the end of the evening, I’m completely wiped and feel like I didn’t manage to accomplish anything. I had hoped for so much more that day and went home with a tear in my eye.

But then there was that awesome lighting and the wafting fog, plus Gino the fire-breather. Every time he breathed fire, a wave of heat shot towards me. The models on the trapeze were definitely getting warm. It all happened so fast and we only had a limited number of tries. There has to be one great picture. Wow, that wall of fire. If you want it to look real, it needs to be real, after all.

This circus photoshoot was full of so many ups and downs. I had great expectations, was initially disappointed with what we got, but now that some time has passed, I am actually happy with the results. This is not something you forget quickly.